The 90th Letter
by CrisisChild
Summary: A letter from Aerith to Tseng. "Sorry it took so long to get to you." Post Dirge of Cerberus.


**Title:** The 90th Letter

**Author:** CrisisChild

**Summary:** A letter from Aerith to Tseng. "Sorry it took so long to get to you." Post Dirge of Cerberus.

Rate: K+

**Beta'd:** Nope

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tseng or any part of the FFVII Compilation.

**Author's Note:** Originally written as a drabble for a friend's birthday. Turned into a full blown ficlet. Wish them a happy birthday. :3

**The 90****th**** Letter**

Tap, tap, tap, tap went the pen as Aerith stared down at the flowery stationary on her desk, impatient about what to write. The young woman was in her room, in the quaint little house on the east end of the Sector Five slums; she was all alone and totally frustrated. A letter needed to be written, but Aerith had no idea what should go down on the piece of paper in front of her. Zack had been gone a while now - almost two weeks since she last saw him - and she wanted to write him a letter. He hadn't been answering his phone every time she called, so the young lady thought that she should try for more traditional approach.

The problem was getting started. How to start off? Aerith didn't know if she should write 'Dear Zack', or 'Hello, Zack' or something else entirely. It was quite troubling. What to do? Seeking inspiration, Aerith went outside to her newly minted garden - going through the weeds always cleared her head.

Still new, the garden barely had any time to grow into something extraordinary. There were already sprouts coming out of the earth, but it would be quite a while before flowers appeared. It was all right. Aerith could wait for them, just like she could wait for Zack to come home to Midgar. As she kneeled next to a patch of earth to start weeding, Aerith felt a presence close by. Taking a quick glance, she saw no one, but eventually understood that it was her shadow keeping an eye on her once more. Smiling softly to herself, Aerith went ahead with her gardening, knowing there wouldn't be any trouble as long as her shadow was around.

About halfway pulling out a particularly stubborn plant, an idea suddenly hit Aerith, causing her to dash into the house and giving her watcher a small bit of alarm.

Doors were slammed, Elmyra was yelling for her daughter to slow down and walk like a normal person (as all mothers did when their children were being unruly) and the Cetra girl had the most brilliant of ideas running through her mind as she picked up her pen and paper once more. It was time to write. She checked the calendar, counting the days and was sure she could get her thoughts down within the timeframe given to her.

And so, she wrote...

This was a memory Elmyra Gainsborough remembered - one among many of the adoptive daughter she had lost. The woman did not know why this one stood out amongst the rest, but it had and that had her going through Aerith's old things. Just a little treasure box of all the precious things she had collected over their years together in Midgar.

A little sachet of dried marigold seeds, too old now to be used, but it had been the first type of flower mother and daughter had bought together. There was a lock of Aerith's hair, tied off carefully with a red ribbon; Elmyra had once told the girl that giving a lock of your own hair to a man you loved was a sign of bonding, that you wanted a piece of yourself with them at all times. Aerith had been so little then; there wasn't anyone in particular she wanted to give it to.

So many treasures, so many memories; each was equally precious within Aerith's heart...

And buried deep within her heart laid a hidden secret...

Aerith had spent a whole four years writing to a boy she had met at the abandoned church. Elmyra knew of it and had even helped her pick out stationary for it. Almost a hundred letters had been written, asking about that SOLDIER who had left and never came back. Eighty-nine letters; was there a ninetieth that Aerith had never sent?

Sending a prayer out, asking for forgiveness from her daughter, Elmyra did as any nosy parent would do and opened the letter, reading its contents, perhaps hoping to be able to hear her late daughter's voice once more, even only in writing.

Elmyra frowned. This was not for Zack. She needed to find Cloud.

And the letter was passed onto him, who looked at the unsealed envelope with a bit of disdain. He knew where it needed to be taken, but the man didn't particularly care for the company the letter's recipient kept. However, it was a request from Aerith's mother and Cloud was never one to refuse a friend in need. Even if he made a big deal out of things.

When he found the man he was looking for, it was early in the morning and the smell of coffee was wafting through the air in the rented office space. Tseng was as immaculately dressed as per usual in his Sunday best. Snores could be heard in an adjoining room - Reno? Whatever the case, Cloud handed over the letter to the leader of the Turks with only a small explanation.

"Sorry it took so long to get to you."

His job done, Cloud left Tseng along with the letter Aerith never sent him.

It was dated to the time of the Nibelheim Incident, wherein Sephiroth had found out about his origins and subsequently went mad. Just after it, in fact, by a few days. The Turk leader remembered that time well enough, of the recon mission that had gone on almost a month prior to Sephiroth heading to that village in the mountains and everything just went straight to Hell. Aerith had no way of sending letters to Zack at that point, even though she knew she would get no answer at some point, but Tseng had never allowed to let her hope die. One could suppose that it was part of the promise to the deceased SOLDIER to look after her - sparing her feelings of the truth, but being a Cetra, she must have known what had happened even without him giving her the news years later.

The stationary was familiar, if faded now, the bright colors of the flowers halfway gone. The same kind Aerith used when she wrote to Zack. How many times had he sealed a hand written sentiment of hers into a white envelope, promising the girl that he would deliver it to her SOLDIER as soon as possible? Empty promises were part and parcel of being part of the Turks - anything to get the job done. However, with her, he had wished he could have hand delivered those eighty-nine letters without fail.

Even today, he had that box of letters, safely tucked away where no one could find them, perfectly sealed.

This...would be the ninetieth letter...or was it the one that started them all?

Tseng, thinking back, recalled a certain day when Aerith had seemed more anxious than usual, bursting out of her home one moment to garden and then dashing back into her home the next. That was the day she had started writing letters, he believed, though she hadn't approached him about sending any of them off until much later. She had been debating something, over sending her letters and he encouraged her to do so, through him, if she'd like. Aerith would give the Turk an odd look before huffing in puzzling irritation. Perhaps...she was thinking about giving him this letter...?

The day was beginning and people were entering the office, proper. Elena was rolling in Rufus who was speaking to the woman about what was to be expected from the W.R.O. in the coming years. Rude followed behind quietly, silently taking everything in. Reno's body crashed to the ground wherever he had taken refuge the other night, cursing as loudly as he could. Tseng nodded to each of them. Today was a special day among them, loathe as Tseng was to admit it.

Rude placed a hand on his superior's shoulder in acknowledgement.

Reno gave a roguish smirk from the door of the adjacent room.

Rufus regarded Tseng with a calm poker face.

Elena was the first to shout out a 'Happy Birthday', the most enthusiastic out of all of them.

Tseng slipped the letter into his pocket, the ghost of a smile on his lips as well wishes were given from the others in a more sedate fashion. The man was never one to do something as frivolous as celebrate his birthday, which felt like any other day of the year no matter the circumstances. However, the three Turks under Tseng's command had insisted on having a reason to celebrate more and Rufus had actually endorsed the idea. And so the five of them spent a good portion of the day 'celebrating' the occasion with a lot of drinking and walking down memory lane.

All the while, Aerith's letter remained a secret in Tseng's pocket, right until the day was over and he could have a moment to himself. No Reno. No Rude. No Elena. No Rufus. No one around in the office, except for Tseng and a letter that traveled almost a decade to get to him. The letter ended his day and, he thought, there was no better day to end the celebrations than to finally receive the final thoughts of a very precious girl.

_Dear Tseng...or is it just 'hello'?_

_Well, how do I begin? This page started out as a letter to Zack, but I couldn't seem to find any way of writing what I wanted to write. But I suddenly had thoughts of you and I wanted to try and write something. Then I remembered what day it was and I wanted to do something special for you. However, what do you do for a man who is basically your shadow? Normal people can't talk to their shadows, interact with them, poke and prod them or question them. And shadows, for normal people, don't get protected by their shadows, either. But neither of us is normal, are we? Not really._

_So, Tseng, I decided to write to you my first letter. Why? Because I want to thank you for everything you've done. Thank you so much for looking out for Zack and I, even if it's just your job. I appreciate it wholeheartedly. Though we weren't friends, having you around made me feel a lot less lonely and scared to be outside, although your employers want you to bring me to them, right? I guess you do care deep down, don't you? Don't worry, I won't tell._

_You know, I admired you. You always seemed so calm, so in control. I was kind of envious. Plus, you got to see Zack almost every day. But forget about that for now. This letter is supposed to be all about you. You know, it's going to be a very special day soon. Do you know what day it'll be? Did you forget? Shall I give you a hint? It's very important, so I would think you'd remember. Can't guess it?_

_It's your birthday! I wanted to wish you a happy birthday filled with everything you could ever wish for. I hope your wishes all come true, because you deserve every joy on the Planet for your one special day. That's all I want for you. That's all._

_Sincerely,_

_Aerith_


End file.
